The Coming Debate Over the US Military Presence in the Gulf
The war with Iran is hardly over, but the debate over the shape and nature of the post-conflict American posture in the Gulf region is just beginning. Undoubtedly, how the war ends will affect how the United States adjusts its role. While this debate is still in its early stages, something of a conventional wisdom is already developing in policy circles that could seriously compromise American influence in the Middle East.
This report explores maritime security conditions in the Mediterranean and the evolving US engagement in the region. As critical infrastructure becomes increasingly vulnerable to sabotage, freedom of navigation is undermined by conflict, and energy disputes generate tension, US policy focus on the region has become fragmented and disengaged. The authors call for a sustained American role to strengthen maritime domain awareness, allied coordination, infrastructure protection, and the capacity to respond when Mediterranean crises affect US and transatlantic interests.
Curb Your Enthusiasm: Why the Midterms Might Not Change Much in US Middle East Policy
With less than a week before the midterm elections in the United States, the spotlight is on the economy and cultural divides. US foreign policy remains mostly on the sidelines, but this year’s inconclusive Iran war and its effect on America’s economy have shaped the broader political environment in this electoral cycle.
Since 1967, Israeli settlements in the West Bank have been a contested feature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The ultimate disposition of the settlements and ongoing activity related to their growth have repeatedly defied agreement in negotiations over a resolution to the conflict.
The Houthis are a political-military faction and Zaydi religious movement founded in northwestern Yemen in the 1980s. A key member of Iran’s Axis of Resistance with links to other militant organizations in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, the group has continued to pose a threat to Western interests on a global scale.
The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) is a proposed multinational infrastructure initiative aimed at upgrading connectivity between the three regions through integrated trade, energy, and digital networks. Announced at the G20 summit in New Delhi in September 2023, IMEC is envisioned partially as a counterweight to China’s international infrastructure project, the Belt and Road Initiative.
After a decade of post-Arab Spring isolation, Turkey’s leaders have recognized that their ambition to position the country as an agenda-setter on the world stage requires active engagement in all directions. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s consolidation of executive authority has centralized foreign policy decision-making and tied it to his domestic political priorities, transforming the country’s revisionist approach to one shaped primarily by personal and pragmatic interests.
Institutionalized Violence In Muslim World Begets Global Islamist Militancy
The rise since mid-2014 of the Islamic State (ISIS) seems to have eclipsed other manifestations of global Islamist violence. ISIS’s notoriety is attributable to, among other things, its spectacular brutality, territorial gains, and apocalyptic ideology. Escaping the attention of many is the fact that ISIS taps into sentiments that have been fostered by extremist policies of many Muslim governments and leaders themselves as an outgrowth of decades of authoritarian rule following post-colonial upheavals in many Muslim societies.
Trump Admin to Shift Toward Saudi Position on Yemen War
If President Donald Trump’s pick of James Mattis as defense secretary is an indication of the direction of foreign policy in the Middle East, then the U.S. stance towards Yemen will likely align more closely with the approach of Gulf states in pursuing a military victory over the Houthi-Saleh alliance in Sanaa. The Obama administration had diverged, at least partly, from the Gulf position in Yemen by pushing the G.C.C. and the Hadi government toward a negotiated settlement.
Iran Warns U.S. and Allied Navies to Stay out of Its Waters in Gulf
Earlier today, the U.S. and four other allied naval forces started a three-day maritime exercise in international waters close to the Iranian coastline.
The Middle East Institute (MEI) will be relocating its offices from its historic brownstone townhouse on February 1, 2017 for an expected 2-year renovation as part of the Institute’s expansion campaign. The Institute’s temporary offices will be located around the corner of the same block, at 1319 18th St NW.
Despite Pressure, Rouhani Sticks to Foreign Investment Plan
President Hassan Rouhani has again come out to strongly argue that his government’s bid to attract maximum foreign investment is to “promote national interests.” “We are Muslim and revolutionary Iranians. We neither idolize nor fear outsiders and will use constructive interaction with the world to advance public and national interests,” Rouhani was quoted as saying by Iranian media.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has warned the Trump administration against “politicizing” Iran’s military activities. “We hope that the issue of Iran’s defense program… does not turn into a pretext for political games,” Press TV quoted Zarif as saying. Zarif, who spoke alongside visiting French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, was specifically responding to the latest reports that Iranian forces have test launched a new ballistic missile.
Iranian Kurdish Group Vows to Continue Fighting Islamic Republic
The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) will continue armed resistance against the Iranian regime, the group’s leader said in an exclusive interview with the BBC Persian published on January 30.
Ali Tayyeb-Nia, Iran’s Minister of Economy, appeared in front the parliamentarians and defended the Rouhani government’s policies to combat large-scale smuggling operations that hurt the Iranian economy. Tayyeb-Nia claimed that the value of smuggled good into Iran has decreased from “$25 billion to $15 billion.”
Iran-Backed Shiite Militias Ready to Take West Mosul
Fars News, an outlet affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (I.R.G.C.), has published an interview with the spokesperson of the Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Force), on the question of the military campaign to free the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State. Ahmad al-Assadi, the spokesperson of the Shiite-dominated Iraqi paramilitary organization, claimed in the interview that the next phase of operations to liberate west of Mosul from the Islamic State is underway.
Monday Briefing: Trump Scores a Ruinous ‘Own Goal’ in the Middle East
In this week’s Monday Briefing, MEI experts Paul Salem, Robert S. Ford, and W. Robert Pearson provide analysis on recent and upcoming events including the Trump administration’s controversial travel ban, the Syrian regime’s dismissal of calls for a cease-fire, and the upcoming meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Iranian Officials React Angrily to Trump’s Visa Ban
Iranian officials and state-run media have reacted angrily to President Donald Trump’s executive order that bans the entry of the citizens of Iran and six other Muslim-majority countries.
تُعد المجلة الرئيسية لمعهد الشرق الأوسط أقدم مطبوعة محكّمة مكرّسة لدراسة الشرق الأوسط الحديث، وتغطي المجلة الرئيسية في المعهد السياسة والمجتمع والثقافة في المنطقة.
